The conversion of DC energy directly to RF pulses with efficiency has many potential applications. Among such uses are: high-power electrical pulses for pulsed power devices and plasma-physic experiments; high resolution radar and time domain metrology; and the generation of megawatt level microwave and millimeter-wave pulses. These applications require the development of an appropriate switch or an array of switches which can switch high power with extremely fast rise time and zero jitter. A frozen wave generator has been developed, consisting of many segments of transmission line charged alternately with positive and negative voltage. Two adjacent segments are joined by a silicon switch which can be closed with a laser pulse. This concept is described by Chang, et al., in "Direct DC to RF Conversion By Picosecond Optoelectronic Switching," IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium Digest, May 1984 which is herein incorporated by reference. A great deal of effort has been devoted to the investigation of photo-conductive semiconductor devices. Bulky microwave tubes and slow reset times have been associated with conventional RF generators. The present invention addresses these problems and more.